Day Eight - Corfu

The third stop of our cruise was to be the picturesque Greek island of Kerkira or as it is known to thousands of British tourists each year ,Corfu.[See www.kensquiz.co.uk quiz number 12,question1]. The island is the northernmost of the Ionian group situated off the West coast of Greece, with the Adriatic to the North, and the Ionian to the south. As the early morning sunshine burst through our balcony window, the sight of Corfu Town came into view. Sylvia stood and sketched as the view swiftly passed by as the ship moved towards it’s berth.

We had not booked an excursion here preferring to explore the town on our own. Disappointedly we had read the previous evening in the port guide that most of the places of interest were closed on Mondays and that couple with a weather forecast that predicted rain did not bode well for the day ahead. I am pleased to say that both assumptions were proven incorrect as we disembarked the shuttle bus to find the old fort open.This is an UNESCO heritage site build by the Venetians during the 6th century, it is now largely derelict but gives fantastic views over the harbour and the town itself. 

Corfu has a varied history being ruled at some stage by Rome, Byzantine, Venice, France, Russia and after the Napoleonic wars Britain before being finally returned to Greece by Gladstone.

The French legacy left the superb Liston building pictured above built at the beginning of the 19th Century in imitation of the Rue de Rivoli in Paris. It is said that only a select group of families could promenade along this walkway , the list being kept in the building. Meanwhile the British left a cricket pitch, one of few in Greece. Do you think England would have won the 20/20 on this?

We spent a leisurely morning strolling through, and at odd-times getting lost, in the narrow alleyways that pretend to be streets. On our way looking at shop windows and picking up souvenirs as we went.We stopped in several churches and the town’s cathedral, admiring the frescos and the ornate painting inside.Unfortunately no photographs were allowed. We continued our wanderings occasionally stumbling on a small square like this one which had a venetian well and a beautiful cerise climbing plant.

On returning to the ship, Sylvia colour washed the sketch she had made earlier and I retired to the sun deck. The rain that had threatened for much of the day had held off and the sun shone. The ship departed at 5.00 and it was at this stage that we learned that not everyone had been so lucky with the weather. Our next door neighbours informing us that their excursion had experienced a downpour and rain for much of the day. What is it they say about the sun and the righteous??

The Icelandic volcanic ash cloud had it’s first effect on the cruise by causing the cancellation of tonight's headline act Jimmy James [from The Vagabonds] who was stranded in London. We decided to eat tonight in the Italian restaurant for the first time and the meal was marvellous. Sylvia started with King Prawns in Garlic and me with Antipasto, for mains Sylvia, Gorgonzola and Asparagus tart , while it was Tuna Steak for me. We followed that with Lemon Tart [Sylvia] and Chocolino [Me], a rich chocolate mousse type cake thing. Unfortunately no photos as I left my camera in the room. As we enjoyed our meal we passed the rugged coast line of Albania, shown above, as Azura steamed on to the next port of Dubrovnik.